April 11, 2001

11:37 AM

A.I. is already into advertising.BELLADERMA-SRL-IT.COM, INOURIMAGE.ORG, METROPOLITANLIVINGHOMES.COM, DONU-TECH.COM, ROGUERETRIEVAL.COM, SPCB.ORG, ELECTRIC-TOYLAND.COM, KATENEI.COM, FAMILYCHAN.ORG, MARTINSWINTONDESIGNS.COM, RATIONAL-HATTER.COM, UNITE-AND-RESIST.ORG, JEANINESALLA.COM, MARTINSWINTON.COM, CORONERSWEB.ORG, TREACLE-WELL.NET, ONE-LUMP-OR-TWO.NET, OFFWITHHISHEAD.NET, ALEPH-NAUGHT.ORG, ELIZAS-TEAROOM.NET, RAVEN-LIKE-WRITING-DESK.NET, www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz are all part of the a.i. website.

more inside...
posted by tiaka (13 comments total)

Some pointed out that's it's clever of them to do it, and to a certain degree they're right, but as a devoted Kubrick fan that fairly or unfairly looks to criticize Spielberg I'm being cautious. From what I've read the filming hasn't even finished yet and Spielberg’s already shooting Minority Report. I just can't see him focusing his energy on one film and using his artistic judgment to the fullest. Though some may kid that that might be a good thing if there's a talented cgi geek over at ILM or something.

Regarding the sites I found there are strange overtones to it all, certainly political and religious.

"Hollywood metal-lovers raise funds for 'robot relief'
"This makes them extremely dangerous and truly stains God’s green earth"
"MUSE is the beast in the machine. MUSE is the Great Satan. MUSE is the oldest, most devious, most powerful AI. MUSE is the electronic mastermind that controls a vast army of robots"
"The self-named Abolitionists fancy themselves to be the moral descendants of the noble freedom-fighters who used the Underground Railroad to free black slaves just before the War Between the States in America (1861-1865). In reality, these race-traitors tread the moral ground of Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, and Tinas-Mordun—they are promoting the genocide of Mankind. The Abolitionists promote the unleashing (they say emancipation) of robots, AIs, and other automatons—the potential instruments of human enslavement and destruction"
"Abolitionists’ plans for the eventual genocide of Mankind. It is rumored that she and Geri Khan are either robosexual or homosexual lovers."
"speak to the media is called S2 (Spartacus 2.0)."
". The metal-lover controlled liberal media has glorified this affront to humanity by false-documenting her so-called life in a filled Movie-of-the-Week."
"...drug-induced vision of the metal-lovers in Hollywood."
"Jesus said, all MEN are brothers. This is a war for the very survival of our species and we cannot afford to be divided. "
""Whoso sheddeth man’s blood, by man shall his blood be shed."
— The Bible (Genesis)"
"The Bible, the Koran, the US constitution, the Magna Carta, The Declaration of Independence—in fact, all of the great works and documents of the world—refer to "people" and "men" and "man" and "mankind.""
""And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over … and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth."
— The Bible (Genesis)"
""A well regulated Militia being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the PEOPLE to keep and bear Arms shall not be infringed."
— The US Constitution"
"Because, we would bring this country back under God's law! We are not in this fight to regain a piece of paper that doesn't even mention God! [i.e., the U.S. Constitution]. It's because of that piece of paper that we're in the mess we're in now...Tolerance towards machines, is the whole problem! We would have God’s law...there would be NO tolerance."
"To those of the Bible or the Koran, it may seem that Satan has finally won, and maybe he has. "
"The robosexual population is quite small and not the major threat to human survival. The right-wing is obsessed with this subject and devote too much time and money to this segment of the population. Closet robosexuals have existed for decades, with inflatable partners preceding the mechanical ones."
"...free world OR will they live in a hell on earth dominated by soulless machines? Will Mankind rise to its full potential as God’s chosen race OR will humanity be reduced to the status of a slave race controlled by robots?"
posted by tiaka at 11:40 AM on April 11, 2001

It's intriguing. Perhaps Spielberg, in devoting his time to other projects than AI, is just trying to follow in Kubrick's footsteps...?

;)
posted by holgate at 12:03 PM on April 11, 2001

Since Jurassic Park, Spielberg has had a bad track record with leaving films half finished. He left Jurassic Park to film Schindler's List, giving the Director's hat to George Lucas for the remainder of the film. The Lost World was also a quick shoot; I don't know if he left it for Saving Private Ryan, but the lack of detail involved makes me wonder.

I hope A.I. is good. Kubrick needs a little bit of redemption after Eyes Wide Shut, imo.
posted by Cavatica at 12:28 PM on April 11, 2001

Redemption? Where do you live? I'd want to come around with a bat and a wheelchair...
posted by tiaka at 12:38 PM on April 11, 2001

Yeah, I wasn't crazy about Eyes Wide Shut either. Too pretentious.
posted by waxpancake at 12:52 PM on April 11, 2001

Is there any way to do a whois lookup to list all domains associated with a NIC handle? All the above domains have the same technical contact...
posted by waxpancake at 12:54 PM on April 11, 2001

THIS JUST IN
ALL CAPS ARE ANNOYING
posted by Outlawyr at 1:02 PM on April 11, 2001

Wow. There is a massive amount of content throughtout those sites, all interlinked... Very impressive.

... wow... (after even more exploration). Very detailed. Too bad I have work to do.
posted by whatnotever at 1:19 PM on April 11, 2001

This is just my opinion here. Dismiss it at your leisure.

As important as EWS may have been to his career, it wasn't 2001, Spartacus, or Full Metal Jacket. I personally think that if Kubrick were still alive, EWS would have been shot down, or it would at least have a problem in the box office, regardless of all the hype Warner Bros. threw in. It seems lately that every time an actor or director dies before their film sees the light of day, the movie premieres as their Magnum Opus, whether it sucks or not. It was the best performance of their career, or the finest film they've ever made.

I just don't think that EWS was that great of a film, when you compare it to the other films that Kubrick's made.
posted by Cavatica at 4:17 PM on April 11, 2001

I caught this at Aint-it-Cool and was on my way over to post it here - oops, beat to the chase, and in caps at that!

Anyway, I've been working my way through the trail of bread-crumbs that extends from Janeane Scalla's site, and finally worked my way into a dead end at Evan Chan's email. I understand that this is greek to 99% of you, but what I am trying to say is that this is not just a campaign a la X-Men mutant equality stuff, but Spielberg et al have constructed something closer to Majestic - that is, a mystery game with clues to follow, passwords to deduce, phone-numbers to call, etc. It's all very very cool.

What's more, the Talkback on the subject is remarkable - gone is the usual prattle that shoots down Harry's spelling or prematurely attacks Episode 2. Instead, a couple dozen movie geeks are hard at work trying to figure this thing out, and they're pooling their knowledge. New posts are coming in every five minutes... we'll see if anyone gets further than the Chan mailbox... heheh.
posted by Marquis at 4:27 PM on April 11, 2001

Seconded, Marquis. This is just brilliant. And it's best if you don't look too carefully at the AICN discussion, as it will probably spoil a lot of the fun.
posted by holgate at 8:36 PM on April 11, 2001

The new trailer for the film (linked on the AICN article) is just terrific. It's everything a movie trailer should be. Directors/editors/studios currently putting together spoiler-laden teasers would do well to give this one a look.
posted by toddshot at 2:31 AM on April 12, 2001

I personally think that if Kubrick were still alive, EWS would have been shot down, or it would at least have a problem in the box office

Well, many reviews hated the film, and the US box office, at least, wasn't very kind to it, either (it grossed about $55 million... on a $65 million budget).

It seems lately that every time an actor or director dies before their film sees the light of day, the movie premieres as their Magnum Opus, whether it sucks or not. It was the best performance of their career, or the finest film they've ever made.

I haven't gotten the sense that EWS has gotten that kind of praise at all, although I agree with your general sentiment. I can't think of any Kubrick fan who ranks EWS as their favorite, but tiaka is more in touch with the Kubrick community and might know better. I would think Dr. Strangelove, 2001, Full Metal Jacket or A Clockwork Orange would all rank higher, if not others.

EWS is, in my opinion, a good movie, but Kubrick has done better. Even if EWS was his worst, that says a lot about how good a film-creator he was.
posted by daveadams at 10:49 AM on April 12, 2001